Star Cruises India

Star Cruises will become the first cruise line to homeport one of its ships in the Malaysian city of Kota Kinabalu.

The 2,156-passenger SuperStar Aquarius cruise liner will arrive in the Sabah state capital on 6 November 2013 following a voyage from Taiwan. Once there it will offer a series of three-night voyages to destinations in Borneo, including Bintulu, in Sarawak province, and Brunei’s capital Bandar Seri Begawan. The deployment will run until 30 March 2014.

“We are proud to be the first international cruise line to homeport in Kota Kinabalu, attracting not only domestic but also international guests to Sabah. We envision that this deployment will help build the cruise tourism industry in this part of Asia and boost local tourism economies,” said Edward Johann Leong, Star Cruises’ vice president of East Malaysia operations.

The SuperStar Aquarius features a range of facilities including nine restaurants and bars, a spa and a 409m² duty-free shopping area.

The ship is currently based in Keelung, Taiwan, but will depart on its repositioning voyage to Kota Kinabalu on 29 October 2013, with stops at Hong Kong, Manila and Boracay.

Holidays aboard a cruise ship are hardly new in the tourism industry, but somehow, it has yet to attract much attention from Muslim tourists, particularly from Malaysia.

Many factors are taken into account during the planning of a holiday, and for Muslims, the issue of halal food is a major factor and the lack of interest in cruise vacations stems from the uncertainty surrounding halal food served aboard cruise ships.

Doubts about the food are not completely baseless as there has been no certification so far by any authority on halal food served on cruise ships although cruise operators do give their assurance.

Muslims in Malaysia are also attuned to ensuring that their food and beverages are certified halal by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia, also known as Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (JAKIM).

Recently, this writer and 70 other media members were given the opportunity to join the luxury ship SuperStar Libra on a cruise that not only covered the Pulau Pinang-Phuket-Krabi route but also established a halal restaurant on board the ship.

The event was jointly organised by tour agencies, namely Malaysian Harmony Tour and Travel (MHTT), Star Cruises Travel Service (M) Sdn Bhd (Star Cruise) and Santai Travel, to introduce and inform Muslim tourists in the country about the certified halal food available on board the luxury liner.

Our four-day, three-night cruise was filled with excitement and entertainment led by Datuk Aznil Nawawi or Pak Nil, a popular local celebrity and television personality.

Keeping the food halal

Consuming only halal food is a strict practice among Muslims, and the credibility of the chef or cook who is preparing the food is also taken into account.

Muslims also need the assurance of adherence to halal principles on raw foods that are being used in the cooking of chicken and meat. Apart from that, patrons of Muslim restaurant also want to ensure that food enhancers or flavours and even the pots, pans and plates are in line with halal requirements. In fact, the utensils should not be mixed with those used in the preparation of non-halal food.

Spice Restaurant

It is in view of such requirements by Muslim tourists that Star Cruise, a cruise ship operator, took steps to refurbish its SuperStar Libra ship to house a halal restaurant.

Named Spice, the restaurant is located on the 10th deck of the ship and can accommodate up to 70 customers at a given time.

The restaurant, which offers both set and buffet style meals, also has a lounge area for guests to relax and unwind with their family and friends.

Cynthia Lee, Deputy President of Star Cruise Sales Division, said the company is hoping to attract more Muslim tourists to take up cruise vacation packages, especially after the launch of the restaurant.

"For a start, we want to attract Muslim tourists from this country and then from other countries and regions such as Indonesia and the Middle East," she said.

At the restaurant, more than 30 different dishes are displayed on the menu, including rice dishes such as nasi kandar, nasi bryani, honeyed chicken, mutton curry, mixed vegetables and local salads as well as deserts such as sago pudding, ice cream and fresh fruits.

This writer's personal favourites were red fish curry, spicy prawns and the special sambal belacan made by Chef Saifol Iskandar Ikhsan, who also manages the restaurant.

Endorsed by Jakim

The opening of Spice Restaurant, meanwhile, marks a new milestone for the cruise operator in the global tourism industry, having acquired the halal status for its restaurant from Jakim.

The idea of opening a restaurant came about when the Star Cruise management realised that Muslims were not fond of taking up cruise vacation packages because of the food served on cruise ships.

The Spice Restaurant was then set up in sync with all the halal regulations set by Jakim.

Chef Saifol himself was responsible for all matters related to the application of halal status to the restaurant.

The chef, who has been with Star Cruise for 15 years, admitted that while the certification process was highly challenging, he was determined to continue with efforts to ensure that the plan to open up a halal restaurant came to fruition.

"It is not easy to get Jakim's endorsement. There are many rules to be followed. The entire kitchen had to be revamped. We had to change the pots and pans, plates, cutlery and dining sets to remove any lingering doubts.

"It was only after Jakim officials visited the ship several times that the restaurant was certified of having met all the regulations," he said.

Meanwhile, raw food supplies for the restaurant are only sourced from suppliers that have been endorsed by Jakim. Food supplies that are brought in from Thailand during the stopover are also ensured of halal certification.

The halal certification in Thailand is provided by the Central Islamic Committee of Thailand (CICOT), which is also endorsed by Jakim and is in the list of overseas halal bodies that one can refer to at Jakim's official website athttp://www.halal.gov.my/v3/index.php/ms/senarai-badan-islam-yang-diiktiraf.